He’s talking about the Nov. 4 face-off between Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers

It took a long time, but Michael Jordan is weighing in on the “greatest ever” athlete debate in a spot that will debut Sunday night on NBC.

While the spot initially seems to be a Nike or Gatorade ad in which Jordan is finally discussing whether LeBron James is the true GOAT (greatest of all time), the twist is that he’s talking about NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. And Jordan is actually appearing in a Sunday Night Football promo for the Nov. 4 matchup between Brady’s New England Patriots and Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers.

NBC Sports convinced Jordan, who hasn’t appeared in any ads or promos since 2015, to participate in the spot to hype what is only the second career meeting ever between Brady and Rodgers.

The promo opens with a contemplative Jordan, shot in black-and-white, acknowledging that there’s “a lot of talk going on these days about who is the greatest ever.” As he touches on important factors like “titles,” “raw talent” and “clutch” moments, Jordan seems to be alluding to the GOAT debate involving himself and James. “I get it. It’s a tough call. I mean, even the jersey numbers are the same.” (Both he and James wear No. 23.)

Finally, he concludes, “maybe the best way to settle this debate is to play it out, head-to-head.” The spot then switches to dramatic NFL footage featuring Brady and Rodgers (both of whom wear No. 12) and returns to Jordan for one final observation: “I’ll watch that.”

NBC Sports, which produced the promo in-house, will premiere the 45-second spot during Sunday Night Football.

UPDATE: Here is the full promo, which NBC Sports released shortly after its Sunday Night Football debut. (The original teaser for the spot, which Adweek exclusively shared on Friday, has been moved to the bottom of this story.)

Joseph Lee, svp of brand and content services, NBC Sports, said the company had been anticipating the Nov. 4 Packers-Patriots game for months, given that it will be only the second time in NFL history that Brady and Rodgers have ever faced off.

Because the Patriots and Packers are in different conferences, the teams only play each other once every four years unless they meet in a Super Bowl, which hasn’t happened. Rodgers wasn’t starting for the Packers during the 2006 matchup and was injured in 2010, so his only faceoff with Brady came in 2014 in a game that Green Bay won 26–21.

“These two legendary quarterbacks have been around for so long and are at the very top of their profession,” said Lee. “When we knew that we had this opportunity for what could potentially be the last time they ever face each other, that got us very excited and into a conversation about what makes the greatest of all time.”

NBC Sports senior producer Brett Strycharz suggested having Jordan—“probably the singular athlete who is representative of the greatest of all time,” said Lee—participate in the spot. Because the former NBA star is close with NBC Sports president of programming, Jon Miller, the company was able to successfully pitch him on the idea.

The promo, which was directed and shot by Scott Duncan and edited by Jeremy Quayhackx, was intentionally filmed to look like a Nike or Gatorade ad and not a network promo.

“You don’t see very often Michael Jordan addressing people directly,” said Lee. “What we want to do is bring people in.”

Jason Lynch is Adweek's TV/Media Editor, overseeing trends, technology, personalities and programming across broadcast, cable and streaming video. Formerly TV Editor for People magazine, he has been covering the TV and movie industries for two decades.